What a dummy, I booked Kenneth Choo's nice, well equipped studio so that I could put the X100 through its paces with Strobes. I couldn't believe it when my lightmeter readings were saying F8 at 1/125 and I couldn't get a decent exposure at F16 and 1/1000 !!!!! Instead of thinking it through I muddled around briefly trying to get my new 'Friends & Their Cameras' project off the ground and then gave up and switched to the D3.
If I had paid attention I would have quickly spotted that I was on Auto ISO and the camera was trying to expose for the non-flash studio - what a dork !!! Anyway, I need to revisit it again and bring my brain along. In the meantime here are a few of the savable shots.
There is a lesson in this (apart from the blatantly obvious one about setting your camera up properly) which is that its better in general to over-expose as opposed to under-expose. It's much easier to recover from the highlights as it brings in much less noise then trying to bring up a badly under-exposed image. It's a huge testimony to the X100's dynamic range that these badly overexposed shots were recoverable at all. When it does go wrong like this its also worth working with the error rather than against it. I quite like the hi-key look of the above shot in particular, it seems to work to leave it a little overexposed.
As I mentioned, part of my objective today was to kick off a new project which was going to be studio based and show my friends and their cameras. I did get a few shots that I was able to recover sufficiently and here are Sharon and her D300 and Riyanti and her magical little S90. Both are shot with 2 strobes behind on the wall and a large softbox above and slightly to the right. I will include better details on the strobe set ups on future shots when I get the exposures right and its worth looking into more closely.
I will go back and try again as I did want to see what was possible with a camera like the X100 with strobes. In the meantime I will be taking the X100 to the streets with my Nikon strobe and a Honl travel softbox and grid. Rest assured that I will not be making the same mistake about not trusting my lightmeter and the good thing is that I wont forget the 'check your settings' rule which is now embedded.
Weekend Assignment
I got things rolling last weekend with the t-shirt assignment and this week I decided to shoot 'walls' as a theme. Here are my efforts this weekend and if any of you have any please post in the Flickr Group.
Bird Cage Wall
Camera Wall
Restaurant Wall
Just to close, I have been 'pimping up' my X100 and invested in a rather nice Gariz half case, Thumbs Up grip rest and a rather cute little Soft Release that I have now unfortunately lost :(
These accessories are really cool and not only compliment the camera but also greatly improve the functionality through improving the grip and allowing beautifully soft shutter movements.
Gariz Case
Thumbs Up
Soft Release
And Finally, I thought I carried too much stuff. Have a look at Chase Jarvis kit for a recent project of his.
Have fun with your X100 and don't forget to send any comments or requests.
Steel
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